Snake Pit
by Kyra Renee
Summary: After quite literally stumbling upon Draco Malfoy in the library, Ginny begins to wonder just what he’s up to. But curiosity killed the cat by tossing it head first into a pit of snakes. Which is exactly where she’s headed by falling in love with him.
1. Chapter One

"Would you _please_ stop tapping your foot? You're driving me insane," The girl's head snapped up at the words and she smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Hermione. I just can't concentrate," She couldn't see how anyone could concentrate in that common room. There was no reason for them to carry on like that. They were simply having a Chess Tournament and she couldn't seem to come to understand how that was such a big deal. Her eyes wandered over to the large glob of people in the middle of the room and she sighed.

"I know," Hermione muttered from the other side of the table. "They are completely out of hand," She said, shaking her head back and forth slowly in disapproval.

"Then why don't you do something? Tell them to cut the noise or _something_. You have to have some authority around here," Ginny said as she stowed her quill away in her bag again along with her books. She had homework she had no choice but to finish and she needed someplace quiet to do that. Therefore, she was taking a trip to the library with or without Hermione who was now refusing to go there all because Madam Pince would not allow her to take a very large and decrepit looking book from the Restricted Section.

"Because Ron and Harry would just undermine me," She huffed. "Where are you going?" She arched an eyebrow curiously at the redhead.

"Library," Ginny smirked at the incredulous expression on Hermione's face. "C'mon. There's no where else to get anything done in this place," She said, standing up and slinging the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder.

Hermione's eyes blazed for a second before she bent her head low over her parchment and grabbed her quill. She sniffed indignantly which Ginny was taking as a no, she was not going. Sighing and not bothering to say another word, she elbowed her way through her fellow Gryfindor's and slipped through the portrait hole. She exhaled sharply as she reached the corridor beneath the portrait hole.

"Has someone waged war in there?" The Fat Lady asked as she fanned herself airily.

"Seems likes it," Ginny responded with a small laugh before heading down the corridor and stairs towards the library. Glancing at her wristwatch she assumed that she would have some time to at least get some of her homework done. At least the potions essay. That one was the killer. Snape was absolutely ridiculous with assigning homework. She couldn't wait until she could happily give up the class because she had a gut feeling that she would not be scoring very well on her O.W.L.s.

She listened as her footsteps echoed eerily against the high walls, sending a series of chills and shivers up and down her spine. She couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy walking alone. Most people were locked away in their common rooms enjoying Merlin only knows what. But she was hoping there would be some people floating around the library. She just hated the thought of being in there alone with only Madam Pince.

Adjusting her bag on her shoulder, she pushed her way into the vast library and inhaled the smell of musty books. Scanning the room she spotted a few students spread sporadically around the room. Their heads were bent low and the soft sound of quill scratching on parchment reached her ears. Good, so she wasn't alone. Sauntering over to an unoccupied table placed between two already occupied ones, Ginny Weasley dumped the contents of her bag and dug through the mass for her quill and already written on parchment.

Sighing in exasperation, she glanced up and around her before locating her quill and spreading out her books and parchment. Taking a seat she glanced at her watch again before beginning to write. Random words found their way to the paper seeing as she had hardly any idea exactly what she was writing about anyway. Her mind kept wandering and her concentration kept wavering greatly. She soon found herself writing the same sentence twice and reading the same part of the book at least a dozen times.

"This is ridiculous," She muttered finally, throwing her quill down and drawing the brief attention of the people around her. Ginny ran her fingers through her hair a few times in frustration and leaned back in her chair. She was just tired, that was all. Tired and frustrated. She supposed she could get up early and skip breakfast to finish her homework, but that was only a last resort and Hermione was too caught up in her own schoolwork to bother helping.

She found herself roughly crammed between a rock and hard place with no way to get out. But that's how it always seemed anymore. You could manage to get yourself into a mess but you could never get yourself out again.

"Ugh," She groaned a little more loudly than intended.

"Shh," Someone hissed irritably from behind her and she blushed slightly.

"Sorry," She whispered, standing up slowly and looking around slowly. Perhaps a walk around the library would help clear her head and maybe if she happened to be lucky she could find a book to help with her stupid essay.

Inching her way quietly towards the towering book shelves, she darted around a corner and began her search. She brushed her finger along the spines of the books as she passed, searching for a title that hinted towards what she was looking for. Which, she had no idea what that was. Despite the fact that she was trying to shift her attention from one thing to another, she couldn't help but dwell on certain things.

Like You-Know-Who for example. Things seemed to be getting worse rather quickly. It like a huge, ominous cloud was hovering right above the Hogwarts towers. Students and teachers alike were jumping at the smallest shadow, the slightest noise could set someone off. It was ridiculous. But she could understand their fear because she felt it too. Even as she strolled through the bookshelves, Ginny couldn't help but glance frequently over her shoulder. It was paranoia. Paranoia and complete and utter fear.

"Oh!" She gasped as her finger landed on a small, brown book which was frayed at the corners. Yanking it from the shelf and blowing some of the dust off, she flipped through the pages. Eh, it wasn't exactly what she had been looking for but it would do.

Holding the book up in front of her nose she continued to scan the pages and flip through them while she walked. Ginny glanced up as the rounded another corner and started down another row.

"The properties of… what?" She read aloud before squinting. The ink was faded and the page was crinkled from a nasty stain. She was content not knowing what the stain was from. Crinkling her nose as she tried to make out the rest of the words, she raised the book and lowered her face towards the page.

"…In order to properly… in order to properly… huh?" She must've looked like a loon, muttering things aloud and squinting her eyes with the book so close to her face. But there was no one else around so she could've walked on her hands while reading and singing and no one would even know.

"When mixing… gah," She pulled her face away from the pages and huffed angrily. "I thought the point of a library was to have books that you could read," She snapped, glaring down at the tattered pages of the book. "Piece of -- ah!"

She felt her foot catch on something soft and solid. Gasping in surprise, she threw her arms out in front of her to help catch herself and watched as her book flew forward and landed with a loud, echoing thud a few seconds before her body came in contact with the ground. Her arm buckled beneath her, sending her face forward onto the floor. There was a shuffling noise beside her followed by a gasp of pain which was then followed by a loud, "Watch where the hell you're going!" She groaned.

"Would you mind getting off of me?" The voice snarled and she groaned again. Oh, how she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a deep, dark hole and just die.

Wordlessly, she pushed herself up with one arm and struggled into a kneeling position, her right arm pulled in close to her chest. Wincing, she rubbed at the spot on her forehead where it had smacked off the ground.

"Erm, sorry," She turned her head slowly to look at the other person and frowned. His nose was wrinkled in obvious disgust as he scowled at her.

"Whatever," He muttered, looking away from quickly and shoving something deeper into his bag. "Just watch where you're going next time, Weasley," She blinked at him a few times.

"Maybe you shouldn't sit in the middle of shelves then where no one can see you," She retorted, moving to hold her arm. It was starting to smart rather badly. She hoped it wasn't broken.

"Maybe you shouldn't be shoving your nose into books you can't even read," He snapped back. She huffed and sat back on her heels, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What are doing in here anyway?" Ginny asked slowly, arching an eyebrow in curiosity. She watched as his jaw tightened and his fingers curled around the shoulder strap of his messenger bag.

"None of your business," He said icily. Her eyes flashed to his bag and he pulled it closer to him.

"Something you shouldn't be doing, no doubt," His eyes flashed dangerously for a second before he slung the strap over his shoulder and pushed himself to his feet.

"You'd be wise to keep your nose out of my business," He said coolly, before striding quickly down the isle. He paused to roughly keep her dropped book back towards her.

"And you might want to get that arm checked out," He murmured with a swift glance over his shoulder before disappearing.

Her eyes widened. She supposed that was the strangest conversation she had had all day. Stretching her good arm forward, Ginny gathered up the book and struggled to her feet. Her thoughts were even more jumbled than before as she made her way back to her table in a slight daze. Stuffing her things messily into her bag with one arm, she shrugged it onto her shoulder and drifted from the library. Pausing in the corridor, she glanced at her arm and sighed. She might as well take a trip to the Hospital Wing while she was at it.

"Madam Pomfrey?" She asked carefully, stepping nervously towards the woman. She turned abruptly, scrutinizing the Gryffindor girl before nodding.

"Yes?"

"Well, could you maybe look at my arm? I, uh, fell and I'm not sure if it's broken or not," Sighing and muttering something under her breath about uneven floors, Madam Pomfrey motioned towards an empty bed and Ginny shuffled over to it before climbing awkwardly onto it. She cringed and gasped as the woman pulled and tugged on her arm, prodding it occasionally.

"It's not broken," She said finally, stepping back and placing her hands on her hips. "But that was some nasty fall you took. You probably just sprained your wrist. I can give you something for the pain but it should be fine in a day or two. Just don't try to use it anytime soon," Ginny nodded and slid from the bed.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," She lied. "But thank you," And with one final nod, she scurried from the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey's eyes on her back the whole way out.

Looking at her watch Ginny decided it would be smart to head back to the common room. It would be considered after hours soon and she didn't really feel like being caught. Wincing as her heavy bag beat against her knees as she walked, she continued to quicken her steps the closer she got. She just wanted to go to bed. She would do her homework in the morning.

"Twitters," She panted as she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Goodness, what happened to your arm?" She exclaimed as she swung open. Not feeling the need to answer, Ginny grunted as she scrambled through the hole and into the common room.

"About time," She jumped as Hermione called out from across the room. Trying to smile feebly, she edged her way over and dropped her bag in the corner.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Er, tripped. It's only sprained though. No worries," She glanced about the room before looking back to Hermione. "It quieted down some, then?"

"Only after Ron nearly throttled Dean for a 'cheap shot'," She rolled her eyes and flipped a few pages in her book, yawning. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Today seemed extra long."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight," Turning on her heel, she half sprinted up the stairs and into the girls' dormitory. Changing into her pajamas at breakneck speed, Ginny pulled the curtains of her four poster closed and crawled beneath her blankets. Yawning, she closed her eyes and rolled onto her side.

Something was off about that. No one sat alone in the middle of an isle of books near the back of a library. Especially Draco Malfoy… Oh, well, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. She would come up with theories tomorrow.


	2. Chapter Two

The shuffles and low whispers of the other girls in the dormitory pulled Ginny from her fitful sleep. Groaning and squinting against the rays of sunlight spilling into the room, she sat up slowly and pulled the curtains aside on her bed.

"Morning," One of the girls said cheerfully as she bent down to tie the laces on her shoes. Yawning, Ginny nodded in a greeting and swung her feet over the edge of the bed before stumbling to her feet and groping around for her robes.

There was no reason why she should be so tired. She had gone to bed early and she hadn't had any horrible dreams that continually woke her up. No, she had slept perfectly. Maybe it was that nagging reminder in the back of her mind telling her that she would be skipping breakfast that morning in order to finish her homework. She moaned aloud at the thought and slumped back down on her bed as she pulled off her pajama bottoms.

Running a brush through her hair, Ginny made her way down to the common room very slowly, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"Hey, Ginny. Sleep well?" Hermione asked brightly, looking up from the book in her hands. Ginny stared at her through glassy eyes for a moment before shuffling towards the table and slumping down heavily in a seat.

Grabbing her quill and glancing longingly towards the window, she began scribbling down words that she knew didn't make sense. She didn't care what her essay sounded like, she just wanted to get it done. She watched as more and more people left for breakfast. She was vividly aware of her aching stomach and she found herself chewing on the end of her quill quite frequently.

Looking down at her watch, she added the finishing touches on her dreadful essay and quickly rolled it up before stuffing it into her bag. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she clambered quickly through the portrait hole and set off at a run for the dungeons. She had two minutes before class started and she was going to be extremely late if she didn't hurry.

Panting heavily as she dashed down the dungeon corridor, Ginny burst into the room before scampering to her seat. Clutching at a stitch in her chest, she waved away her curious classmates as Snape swooped into the room. All she wanted to do was hand in her essay and then sneak down to the kitchens for some much missed breakfast.

"Essay's on my desk," She listened to the chairs scraping against the floor before she pulled herself to her feet with much effort before digging her parchment from her bag. Joining the line of people shuffling forward to the Professor's desk she looked around the room. It was the same as every year. Dim, dreary and absolutely disgusting.

Tossing her essay onto Snape's desk, she made a beeline back to her desk and put her head down. It was going to be an extremely long day, she thought sourly.

--

By the time lunch rolled around, she felt as though her stomach were eating itself away. Frowning heavily, she winced every time her stomach gurgled. It was such an unpleasant sound which only reminded her of how hungry she was. She didn't ever remember skipping a meal before. Of course, she probably had. But had it been this torturous?

"How's the arm?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. He shouldn't just sneak up on people like that. It was hardly fair.

"Fine. Just sprained," She glanced sideways at him as he matched his stride to hers before looking expectantly over her shoulder. She had expected to find at least Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him. But there was no one. They were the only two in the corridor. Well, besides the group of people turning the corner at the other end. He nodded wordlessly beside her and kept his eyes narrowed and forward.

"So what exactly were you--" He flashed her a dangerous glance and she swallowed back her words as he quickened his pace.

"Doesn't matter," He said gruffly. She slowed to let him get farther ahead of her. He was strange. Of course, he always had been a bit dodgy. But she had never really noticed just _how_ dodgy he was.

"I'll figure it out sooner or later," She called, watching as his back stiffened as he walked even faster, throwing her a look over his shoulder.

"You really shouldn't try," He called back before disappearing from her line of sight.

"Too bad," She muttered, shaking her head as she resumed her normal walking pace.

Entering the Great Hall, she made her way over to her usual seat at the Gryffindor table while trying not to glance over at the Slytherin table. Dropping her bag at her feet, she slumped down and stared longingly at the food spread out on the table. Heaping food onto her plate, she began shoveling it into her mouth, swallowing it half chewed.

"Other people would enjoy eating some of that too," Ron said as he Hermione and Harry took their usual seats. Ginny swallowed the bite of her sandwich she had just taken and stared across the table at him.

"I doubt the food is going to suddenly run short, Ron," She said with an eye roll before taking another sandwich from the plate and shoving it into her mouth.

"Well, with the way you're sucking up the food…," Ron muttered, trailing off as he cast a sideways glance at Harry. Hermione made a noise in the back of her throat and shook her head before placing a few sandwiches on her own plate. Reaching for the pumpkin juice, she looked over at Ron.

"Seeing as Ginny missed breakfast you should just let the poor girl eat," Ginny nodded in agreement.

"Hear, hear," She muttered between mouthfuls.

"She wasn't here? You weren't here? Why not?" Ron asked as he looked from Hermione to Ginny and then to his heaping plate of sandwiches.

"I had to finish some homework. That was due today," She ignored Hermione's I-Told-You-So glance and grabbed another sandwich. "I was too tired," She muttered defensively.

"Oh," Ron said with a shrug before devouring his own sandwich. Ginny picked at the bread for a moment before looking up at Harry. She could feel his eyes on her and it was increasingly uncomfortable. His lips twitched as though he were wanting to say something, but he looked down suddenly. Sighing, she tossed her mutilated ham sandwich onto her plate and looked around the Great Hall.

Her eyes drifted towards the Slytherin table and lingered there for a moment before looking away quickly. Malfoy was up to something and it was bothering her. She nibbled on her bottom lip in concentration for a moment before feeling another pair of eyes on her. Glancing automatically at Harry, she found that he was too intent on eating and talking with Ron and Hermione to look at her. Neither of them were looking at her, either.

Craning her neck from automatic curiosity, she peered across the hall and felt her lips press into a hard thin line. His cold gray-blue eyes were locked on her face, his expression blank. His face was smooth as if he were merely lost in a thought or daydream. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and continued to stare back at him. He barely seemed to notice.

"…Harry, I don't think you should bring that up here," Hermione hissed, pulling Ginny's attention back to them. All three pairs of eyes were on her and she felt her blood boil slightly. Ron looked down quickly and Harry followed suit, concentrating extra hard on his sandwich.

"Ugh," She grumbled as she grabbed her bag and spun around on the bench to stand up. "Fine. Enjoy your little chat. I suppose my tiny, child-like brain couldn't handle all of the information," She snapped.

"Ginny, you know it's not--"

"Stuff it, Hermione," She growled under her breath as she pushed away from the table and stomped from the Great Hall. She had time before her next class and she had no idea what she was going to do. There was no point in going up to the common room only to turn back around and have to leave again.

Twirling a piece of hair around her finger as she climbed the stairs absentmindedly, she wondered just what Harry shouldn't have been bringing up. Something about You-Know-Who, she assumed. That's all they ever talked about anymore. But she was never allowed to be included. They didn't think it was right and she didn't think it was fair. She'd die in the fight the same as they would. She was capable of defending herself and killing a few Death Eaters too.

"I'm not a kid anymore," She growled under her breath as her temper rose with every thought. "They shouldn't treat me like one. I'm barely younger than they are," She slumped down beside a suit of armor which turned nosily to pat the top of her head in sympathy.

"What, do they think I'd purposely do something stupid? Gah! I've been in dangerous situations before," She was talking quickly to herself. She assumed it was better to let her anger out then bottle it up, unless she wanted to pop like Harry always did and throw some huge temper tantrum.

She leaned her head back against the rough wall and closed her eyes. Her stomach was beginning to feel a little too full and ache from all of the extra food she had forced into it. She sighed heavily and folded her arms loosely across her chest as the faint sound of voices flitted up from the Great Hall. Everyone sounded so happy and so relaxed. She wished more than anything that she could join them. Turning her head to the side she listened to the bickering of surrounding portraits and the occasional clank from a shifting suit of armor. Now, all she had to do was wait for lunch to end and then continue on with her day.

* * *

**Author's Note:** There are two things I would like to address while I'm thinking about it. First, I would like to apologize for taking so long to write this simple chapter. But I've had many things happening with my life that I barely had time just to sit and think. So, I am sorry. I hope to get the rest of them up much sooner. Secondly, I understand that Snape is not supposed to be teaching potions being that it's the Trio's sixth year. But Slughorn irks me and let's just say that Snape will make this little world go 'round.

I thank all who are reading this for reading this and I hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter Three

"Today has been the longest day of my life," The fifth year groaned as she slumped down in a squishy armchair. She huffed as her bangs fell into her eyes. Her classes seemed to have dragged on for hours on end and the time between them just didn't seem to last quite long enough. On top of that, she was overly exhausted and was still enduring occasional stomach aches from eating too much.

"I second that," Ron muttered as he flopped into the chair beside her. She turned her head slowly to look over at him.

"Ron you've done nothing today but complain about everything," Hermione huffed as she dropped her bag and settled onto the floor facing them.

"Yeah. And let me tell you that complaining really takes a lot out of you," He said with a nod as Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey, guys," Harry grumbled as he joined the other three. Ginny cast them all looks before settling back more in her chair. Her lips pulling into a scowl as she narrowed her eyes at the fireplace.

"Something wrong?" Her eyes flashed to Hermione for a second. She turned her question over in her mind for a few moments. Was there something wrong? Yes. There were quite a few things wrong to be honest. But she knew better than to tell them.

"Not at all," Her voice was hard and controlled. She watched their expressions flicker between confusion and concern. Fixing her eyes on the fireplace once more, she sighed and leaned her head back. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh," They said at once, looking away from her and each other. She wanted to slap all three of them and tell them how much she hated them at that moment. She hated them for not including her in anything. She hated them for being so over-protective. She hated them for just being so damn stupid.

"Why are you crying?" Harry whispered, leaning towards her. Her hand flew to her cheek automatically and she touched her fingers against her skin. Sure enough, there was moisture there. Her eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head.

"I don't know," She dropped her hand into her lap and looked over at him. His green eyes were fixed on her. He looked concerned. Truly and honestly concerned. She felt a pang of guilt. She should be a better person. She shouldn't be the reason behind that look in his eyes.

She reached her hand out hesitantly and placed it on top of his. Smiling feebly she patted his hand. It was her non-verbal apology. Or it was the best apology she could muster at that moment. He continued to stare at her for another moment before returning her smile and flipping his hand over, curling his fingers around hers.

Ginny's smile faded for a second as she stared down at their hands. Did this mean he was accepting her apology or what? She glanced over her shoulder at Ron and Hermione. They were bickering about something that didn't seem important enough to care about. Her eyes returned to their hands and she exhaled slowly.

"Harry…," She began, looking away from him still.

"No. Don't say anything," His eyes darted to Ron and he cringed. "Come with me for a minute. Please?" He made to stand up and she nodded slowly. What on Earth was he doing?

Still holding onto his hand, Ginny followed him wordlessly out of the common room and out into the deserted corridor. Taking a few steps away from the portrait hole, he stopped and turned around to face her.

"Harry. What is all of this--" He held up and hand and shook his head, cutting her off. Sighing in exasperation, she rolled her eyes and waited for him to begin the explanation.

"For starters I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know how you must feel about being left out because, trust me… I know how that goes. But you need to understand that--"

"Not this again," She interrupted with another sigh. She tried to pull her hand away but he simply tightened his grip.

"Just listen to me, please, Ginny?" He paused for a moment and she nodded, biting her tongue -- literally. Harry nodded in approval before taking a deep breath and pressing on.

"As I was saying… You have to understand where I'm coming from. I just don't want you to get hurt. No. You said you wouldn't say anything," She opened her mouth to argue but snapped it shut and glared at him. "I know what you can do. I've seen you. You're just as good as the rest of us, I know. But someone needs to stay behind and make sure everything goes good here," She watched as he glanced over her head for a moment, apparently thinking.

"Great. I get to hold down the fort," She muttered. "Look, Harry. If this is what you dragged me out here to say then you can save it. I don't want to talk about it. I've heard enough to last a lifetime."

"That's not what I pulled you out here to say," He muttered. She arched an eyebrow at him curiously.

"Oh yeah? Then what was it that you wanted to say so bad that you couldn't say in there?"

"I didn't want to _say_ anything, actually. I just wanted to… do this…," Her eyes widened as he leaned towards her. Her body froze in place as his lips brushed against hers. She had always dreamed of kissing Harry. But she imagined a bit more. She willed for the sparks to come, but there was only a flicker. Still frozen in place when he pulled away, she merely stared at him.

"So, er…," He bit down on his bottom lip.

"I…I…" She was at a complete loss for words. Besides, what was she supposed to say after something like that? Had she been a little more prepared for the kiss, then maybe she wouldn't feel so totally lost and confused.

"Please say something?" She stared at him for another moment.

"I…I think we should go back to the common room now," She felt a hot blush creeping its way onto her cheeks and she looked away from him quickly. Loosening his hold on her hand, he nodded.

The moment they were through the portrait hole, she released his hand. Bidding a hasty goodnight to Ron and Hermione, she bolted up the stairs and collapsed on her bed. Harry had just kissed her and she barely felt a thing. Where was the magic? Where were the sparks? She had been counting on them to be there and they weren't. What was wrong with her? She covered her face with her hands. But besides that, she hadn't even had the gall to say anything! There was only thing to do and that was compensate for her stupidity. Tomorrow she was going to make everything better so they could pretend like that had never happened. Or rather, that it hadn't been so awkward.

Even though it was too early to be getting ready to go to bed, Ginny changed into her pajamas and crawled beneath her blankets anyway. She supposed it wouldn't kill her to get to bed early and catch up for her insanely long day. Not even bothering to close the curtains around her four poster she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, more or less forcing herself to dream pleasant thoughts.

--

If anything, her night had been worse. She couldn't keep the feeling of guilt away long enough to actually enjoy a decent sleep. She had pretended to sleep as the other girls filed into the dormitory, talking in whispers before crawling into their own beds and dozing off. She had watched as the stars disappeared and the sky lightened. Unable to just lay there for any longer, she had gotten up quietly and dressed before creeping her way into the common room.

Placing herself in front of the smoldering fire, she attempted to formulate a plan for apologizing to Harry. Should she kiss him and then tell him sorry just to show that she didn't mind what he had done? Or did she merely smile and say she was sorry? She drummed her fingertips against the arms of the chair and chewed on her bottom lip. Why did it have to be this complicated? She liked Harry, right? Right. So why did kissing him have to seem so… weird?

She ran her tongue over the back of her teeth and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up on her. She was glad it was a Friday but she had no idea how she'd manage to make it through the day. She just hoped it wouldn't seem half as long as the day before.

"Morning!" Ginny's eyes snapped open at Hermione's voice and she smiled lightly.

"Good morning," Rubbing at her eyes, she sat up and hunched over a little, scanning the common room for Harry. Apparently he hadn't left the dormitory yet.

"How did you sleep last night?" Hermione asked casually as she flipped open a book and settled into the chair beside Ginny. The younger girl shrugged her tired shoulders.

"Fine," She lied.

"So where did you and Harry go last night?" She felt her stomach drop through the floor. She eyed the curious look on Hermione's face before swallowing hard and shrugging.

"Just outside the portrait hole. He, er, gave me the 'speech' again," Which wasn't a lie, really. She was just leaving out the second part.

"Oh," Hermione nodded slowly and looked back down to her book, ending the conversation. Eyeing her friend carefully for a moment to make sure she was done asking questions, Ginny took to surveying the common room once again.

She watched carefully as Harry and Ron descended the steps slowly, their arms flailing as they spoke. She cracked a smirk at the heated expressions they both wore. Standing up slowly, she moved to stand behind the chair, willing for him to make eye contact with her. She watched as he glanced at her but looked away just as fast. A frown played across her lips as she walked towards him, her hands folded tightly across her chest.

"Harry," She said loudly, causing the boys conversation to end abruptly. Ron gave an indignant snort before stomping off to join Hermione by the fireplace.

"What?" He asked wearily.

"I need to talk to you," She said slowly. He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Now you want to say something?" He asked bitterly. So her lack of words had meant something to him? There was that guilty feeling again. She reached out and grabbed his wrist roughly. Yanking him towards the wall and farther away from people.

"I want to say I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to me last night. I wasn't expecting that and I had a lot on my mind and… well, I'm sorry I froze that like," She blushed lightly and looked down at her feet. "It's not that I didn't… didn't _like_ it. I just didn't know what to…do." He was silent for a few long moments before sighing.

"Oh, well… that makes it… better," She looked up as he smiled feebly at her.

"Good," She said with a returning smiled. "Now, let's get to breakfast. I'm starving," His fingers entwined with hers and they made their way back across the room to Ron and Hermione.

"Ready?" Ginny asked, stifling a yawn. "What, Ron? Oh. Don't look at me like that," His eyes seemed to be bugging out of his head.

"Don't," Hermione warned, elbowing him hard in the ribs as they stood up.

"He's holding hands with my sister," Ron whispered, leaning towards Hermione.

Ginny smirked smugly and glanced at Harry. "Yes, Ron. He is."


	4. Chapter Four

"So… when did _this_ happen," Ron asked as he motioned between the two with his fork. His eyes narrowed slightly at Harry before he looked down at his plate. Harry opened his mouth to respond but Ginny cut him off.

"It doesn't matter," She said abruptly. "And can you please stop asking us a hundred questions? I haven't even gotten to touch my food yet," She eyed Ron dangerously before buttering a piece of toast and hacking into it.

"Fine," He muttered darkly under his breath.

"Well. I think its great that you two are finally together. It took long enough!" Hermione smiled at them and brushed her bushy hair out of her face. Elbowing Harry as he opened his mouth to respond, Ginny looked across the Great Hall.

She wanted to take things slow. There seemed no reason as to why they should flaunt this unspoken relationship. In fact, she wasn't even sure it was a relationship. They had kissed and held hands. That didn't quite qualify as a relationship, did it? He hadn't really _asked_ her to be his girlfriend yet. But no doubt, the school would be ablaze with rumors. With her toast halfway to her mouth, Ginny froze and stared blankly over Hermione's head. She was not at all keen to hear what they could and would come up with.

"Something wrong?" Ginny shook her head fiercely at Harry's question as if to shake the thoughts right from her head.

"Fine. I just realized that, I… have something to do," Grabbing her bag from the floor, she stood up quickly. "See you later," She hesitated before giving him a swift kiss on the cheek and grabbing an apple from a bowl on the table. Swallowing hard, she made her way swiftly from the Great Hall. She wondered if she'd ever be able to just sit down and enjoy a full meal. Perhaps someday…

Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridor again and she walked faster, determined to find an empty classroom before her knees gave-way completely. What was wrong with her? She should be happy, not worrying so much. But she supposed the worrying came along with everything that was happening. What with Harry out to save the world, her new semi-relationship and her mind constantly wandering back to Malfoy and his extra odd behavior…

Knocking on a classroom door, she listened for a moment before pushing it open and slipping inside. The sunlight spilled through the window and she stared, transfixed at the shimmering dust. Slipping her heavy school bag from her shoulder and onto a desk, Ginny folded her arms tightly across her chest as she moved towards the window.

"I wish things were easier," She muttered under her breath, exhaling slowly.

"Don't we all?" The red-head let out a loud gasp of surprise and spun around. One hand flew to her pounding heart and the other to her throat. She could feel her pulse quickening.

"You," She breathed, her eyes narrowing. He sat atop one of the desks, one leg up. Laughing darkly he leaned back and looked over at her.

"Me," He leaned forward. Swinging his leg around, he stood up slowly. "Scare you, did I?"

"Not at all," She replied with heavy sarcasm. He chuckled again and leaned against the desk, his arms folded across his chest.

"Terribly sorry," His smirk was wide -- amused. She felt her face grow hot with humiliation and anger. She refused to be part of his little games. She wouldn't be his plaything. Huffing, she made for the door. She would find another classroom and triple check it before going inside.

"So. You and Potter, huh? Interesting," She stopped and turned slowly to stare at him.

"How do you know about that?"

"Well unless you two holding hands was some optical illusion… I'm pretty sure the entire school knows about it," His smirk widened and her stomach churned.

"Yes. Right. Well…" Her eyes fell to her feet and she sighed heavily. "That just so happens to be none of your business."

"Ouch," He pushed away from the desk and moved towards her slowly, deliberately. "You really hurt my feelings, Weasley."

"What do you want from me, Malfoy? I don't have time for your childish games," She snarled, backing up until she bumped into another desk. She was cornered and she wasn't feeling at all comfortable. Her eyes drifted towards her bag, which held her wand.

"I don't want anything from you, Weasley. I just like to watch you squirm."

"What were you doing in here anyway?" She held out her hand as he drew closer, pressing it against his chest in an effort to stop him or at least keep a decent distance.

"I could ask you the same thing," His voice went rigid as he stopped mere inches away from her. She could feel his hot breath on her face. She could feel the warmth of his skin from beneath his shirt. He smelled rather nice too, she noted. It was a smell she couldn't really find a name for. But it was nice… What was she thinking?

Grinding her teeth together and trying to gather up her senses, she fixed her eyes on his extremely close face. "I needed some time alone. If you must know," She said coldly.

"Is that so? Well have your alone time somewhere else," He took a few steps away from her and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Out."

Happy for a reason to leave, she scurried towards the door and yanked her bag from the desk. Reaching her hand towards the door, she curled her fingers into a fist and rocked back and forth on her heels for a moment. She could feel his eyes burning into her back. Dropping her hand to her side, she turned back around to face him. Her eyes were wide with worry.

"M-Malfoy?" She asked skeptically.

"What?"

"Don't do it."

"Don't do what, Weasley?" He asked dully.

"Whatever you're planning to do. Don't do it," He opened his mouth to retort, but clamped it shut instead and just glared at her. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she nodded once before hurrying from the classroom.


End file.
